How does your media product represent particular social groups? Improved
- 2. A social group is a group of people who interact with each other usually because they have something in common with each other, which could be their gender, their experiences, their personal situation, etc. This may to be to offer mutual support to each other, or gain advantages for themselves because of the relationships they have. Examples of these are: Men Women Children Victims Villains Heroes Police force (e.g. police detectives)
- 3. The Villains or antagonists of any film are usually central to many films’ plots as they cause bad things to happen within the storyline, and then this is left up to the hero or protagonist to rectify this and stop them from causing further damage. Sometimes the villains have once played the role of a hero or even a victim, and something that has happened to them made their nature and motives change. Our villain’s identity is kept hidden throughout the opening, and none of the camera shots really reveal his face, so it is a mystery to the audience who he might be and why he was motivated to kill the officers’ young daughter. This creates suspense and tension, as this is one of many questions that go unanswered, so that if we were to make the rest of the film they would hopefully be intrigued to find out why this might be. The theme of identity is very common within the thriller genre, as it can be confusing and intriguing at the same time to the viewer, especially if it is a case of mistaken identity or a person having multiple identities. The villain in our story is similar to John Doe, the villain from the thriller Se7en (1995). During the opening of Se7en, his identity is also kept hidden, and his personality and potential motives are only shown through his work. He is shown cutting up pictures, sticking them onto pages, drawing faces, and making scribbled notes, indicating that he is formulating a plan, but the audience are unaware of it at that point. Later on in film, he is revealed to be a psychopathic serial killer, and he is also seen carrying out the murders of multiple people, which seems to be what he was planning before. This is different to our film because the person’s actual identity and motives are revealed, and our villain only kills one person. He also seems to have no empathy for his victims or takes pity on them, which is similar to our villain, as shown by the way he flees as soon as he has killed the girl, and shoves the officer out of the way, so that he does not block his exit. This makes them seem more cold and distant, so that their role as the antagonist is easier to believe.
- 4. In our film, there is use of cinematography, even though the camera does not move around that much. Our villain, despite his face not being shown, is shown from a number of different angles. The first shot we see of the villain is when the camera pans around from the scene showing the little girl sat on her father’s lap. She gets up, hugs her dad and then skips out of the room, the camera following her around, and goes past the window and shows in the dark outside the front door, a mysterious figure is trying to get inside the house. The shot is a mid straight one, and because it is dark, it only reveals the upper body of the character, and the only thing that the viewer can see is that he is wearing a dark hoodie, which may suggest that he is trying to blend into his surroundings, and does not want to be seen. He is then seen in the same shot entering the house, without the other characters inside knowing. This immediately makes the audience fearful as they do not know what his motives are, or who he is in relation to the other characters. The next shot is a low angle, and the way the shot is framed makes the viewer able to see the whole scene. The only part of the villain that can be seen is his loose hand just in shot, and he is seen tensing and relaxing his fingers for a moment, suggesting that he may be preparing to do something. Just as he does this, the little girl from the previous shot walks in and does not notice the man standing in the doorway, and calmly begins to climb up the stairs, presumably going to bed. When she reaches about halfway up the stairs, the villain suddenly gets out a gun, which is shown directly in the front of the camera, which is what the viewer then focuses on, as the girl is shown reaching the top of the stairs, and is blissfully unware of what is about to happen. This shocks the audience and makes them even more fearful, as they were not expecting this to happen, and worry that the little girl is now in danger from a threat that she is not aware of, and the audience still does not know who the man is. The following shot remains in the hallway, except this time the camera is at about shoulder level, and straight on facing the villain from behind, with his hood still up so the audience still cannot see who he is. He seems to still be contemplating following the girl upstairs when suddenly the door to the right of him opens and the officer, the main character comes through, the camera pans across to the left to follow the action and he immediately goes to knock him out of the way, and the two begin a struggling and fighting. The villain manages to push the officer out of the way, and there is then a match on action, where the officer falls onto the stairs when the villain shoves him and starts to run up the stairs. The action is completed showing the action from the top of the stairs looking down, and the villain moves swiftly past the camera and out of sight. The next shot shows the camera returning to nearer it’s original position, this time closer to the stairs pointing up, showing the villain disappearing around the corner at the top of the stairs, and the officer is seen struggling to his feet and attempting to follow him. The makes the audience even more fearful, as they know that the situation is probably not going to end well and the officer is not there to protect his daughter. The officer is then seen running up the stairs, around the corner to the closed bedroom door, which he throws open and inside sees his daughter being held in a tight grip by the villain. When the narrative returns to the past, the camera is outside the room, at group level, and shows the villain lift the girl up, shoot her and she falls lifeless onto the bed behind. Meanwhile, the villain is seen pushing the officer out of the way, and he stands frozen as the villain sprints across the landing and out of sight. In the final shot of the villain, from the top of the stairs facing down on the action, the villain is seen continuing his sprint down the stairs and throws open the door and out of sight.
- 5. There is a tense and dramatic score played throughout the opening, and this changes as the scene differs, for example it changes slightly when the flashback is playing, the score is more upbeat and heightens the sense of fear and the anticipation for the audience what is going to happen next. We used only a few editing techniques for this part of the scene, which includes the use of black and white to represent the scene has returned to the past, and is a flashback for the officer, and the flashes of light used to transition to and from the flashback. The mise-en-scene components were carefully considered in order to create the effect that we wanted. The costume of the villain is very simple, and effective, as he is dressed in plain black clothes, with his hood up, so that his identity is concealed throughout the opening. His body language his very tense, shown by the way he clenched his fist and stands hunched, but he seems determined to carry out whatever he had come there to do, and since his face is not revealed, no facial expressions can be seen to guess what his motives were. This therefore means that not much was used in the way of hair and makeup, as the audience would not be able to see it anyway. The setting of the house is used to make the situation seem as normal as possible at first, and it turns into a scene of tragedy later on , which does not usually happen in family homes. The villain is positioned in the way that he is to give the impression that despite being a mysterious and aloof figure, he has the situation under his control, and it goes exactly how he wanted it to go. The only real prop that is used is the hand gun, which is used to signify the danger that the little girl is in, and how, once again, the villain has all of the power in his hands, as he can make the choice whether or not she lives or dies. There is not much light used in the scene to signify the darkness of the situation they are in, and also it is a traditional convention of thrillers. The black and white colouring is used for the same reason.
- 6. The victims in many films are portrayed as weak and vulnerable, and usually suffer at the hand of the villain. They can be targeted specifically for a number of reasons, which could be, for example because of their gender or colour, but usually they are persecuted for purposes of revenge. This can be against the person themselves, or a loved one of the person as this will hurt them more. This is the case with our film, as our victim is a young, innocent girl whose brutal murder is shocking to the audience, and it may also make them feel angry as she has not done anything to deserve her fate. The villain may be trying to seek revenge for something that the officer has done in the past that may have hurt him, but if there is a specific reason, this is not revealed to the audience. This course of action has the desired affect as the officer is devastated at her untimely death, and so is the audience as she is very young, and it could also lead to feelings of anger and resentment towards the killer. Similar characters to our young girl are the young girls featured in the opening of the Woman in Black (2012). It is set during Victorian times, but the concept of the girls being young and innocent is still there, as they are dressed in traditional dresses, with bows in their hair, and are seen playing with dolls, which further reinforces the idea of them being innocent, harmless young victims whose fate befalls them due to events and actions outside of their control, as the spirit of the woman who haunted the house possessed them and made them jump out of the window to their death. Despite our films being set in different times, hundreds of years apart, the shock factor is still there, as the audience do not except something so sudden and brutal to happen, and especially not to children. However, this setting and storyline seems more appropriate for the Woman in Black as it is more of a horror film, where these events happen more frequently so are expected more by the audience. Although deaths of victims is not uncommon in thrillers, they are not always as brutal, or happen to young children. Another example of a young child’s death having a profound effect on the main characters and the narrative is Face Off (1997), when the main character is seen playing at a carnival with his young son, when a lone hit man outside of the scene shoots and kills him, when the bullet was presumably for him. His grief and shock is evident when he discovers that nothing can be done for him, and this manipulates the viewer’s feelings too, as they are left shocked and angry at his untimely death and question why it had to happen to him. The concerned parent theme is similar to ours, shown in the way that both characters cradle their children, looking grief stricken. This then sets the tone for the rest of the film, as there is now a backstory for the main character and a reason for what motives him.
- 7. The first shot that our victim is shown in is in the first shot of the flashback, where the camera is positioned at a low angle looking up at the family scene, showing the little girl sat on her father’s knee on the chair, and they are seen watching the TV out of shot. The shot then changes and switches to outside of the house, with the camera in a straight angle wide shot looking in through the window with the characters still in the same position. The little girl is then seen turning around and hugging her father, and then jumps off his knee and is seen skipping out of the room, and the camera pans around following her until she goes out of sight through a door. The camera continues to pan and the villain is seen trying to enter the house, which makes the viewers very concerned for her safety. The next shot shows her totally unaware of the danger behind her climbing up the stairs to bed, shown by the carefree way she swings her arms about. A while later, after the fighting and the villain and officer running upstairs to her room, she is shown being held tightly by the villain, and staring up at her father who has just entered the room, looking scared. After the narrative returns to the past, the camera is now outside of the room looking in through the open door, and the little girl is seen still being held by her captor, and suddenly he releases her and shoots her, and she falls backwards onto the bed. The villain is seen fleeing the house and now crime scene, and the next shot shows the officer sat back on the bed, cradling his lifeless daughter in his arms and crying over her. The camera moves slowly back to reveal a photograph of the pair taken before she died, with the officer and the girl in his arms still visible in the background of the shot. The makes the viewer feel very angry and sad at the same time, as they feel as if she was innocent and did not deserve her fate, and shocked that someone so young was killed.
- 8. The editing techniques that are used are as before, as the little girl only appears in the flashback sequence, which is the same as the villain, as with the sound, as the score remains the same also. The costume that the little girl is dressed in is her pyjamas, which is appropriate for young children, and reinforces the idea that she is a young, innocent child that has done nothing wrong, and was just going to bed when the tragic incident occurred. The setting is the same as before, as the homely environment makes the viewer feel as if she is safe and cared for, and most importantly, that nobody can harm her, and she has no props. The lighting and colour of the scene are the same as before to continue with the flashback theme. Since we wanted to continue the theme of her being young and innocent, she kept her hair the same and wore no makeup, as this young reflect young children’s appearances in real life. Her facial expressions most of the time are happy and carefree, as she seemingly has nothing to worry about, and she seems to happy to be with her dad. Her body language mirrors her facial expressions, as she skips out of the room and up the stairs, showing once again she has no concerns and is unaware of the danger that she is in until later on. When the villain holds onto her later on though, her expression changes to one of shock and fear, and the audience can tell that she is scared because of her wiggling, trying to get away, but to no avail. The audience cannot see her facial expression when she gets shot, and she is seen looking peaceful when she is held in her father’s arms. The girl is positioned in the way that she is to get across to the viewer that the relationship between the girl and her father is very close, shown by the way he put his arm around her and hugged her. She is shown walking up the stairs with the gun in the foreground to show where she was in relation to the danger that is awaiting her. She is positioned being held by the villain to show how vulnerable she is in this situation, and her being held by her father once again demonstrates the closeness between the officer and his daughter, and his devastation at her being taken away from him at such a young age. This is demonstrated finally by the photograph of the pair, which shows that they meant a lot to each other, and the sad image of him cradling her is shown in the background.
- 9. The heroes or protagonists are important in any film, as they help to continue the narrative and are usually central to the plot. Also, the role of the hero can be versatile and be any person, and will usually be the last person the audience expects to be selected for that role. This is because many films make the hero a seemingly ordinary person in an extraordinary situation, and they are the majority of the time, unaccustomed to danger. This makes it intriguing for the audience as they get to see how they deal with a variety of different situations thrown at them, and whether or not they manage to save the day in the end, which they usually do. Our hero seems to be in a similar situation, except for the fact that he is a police officer, which means he would have experienced violence and danger that most people might not have, but not on a personal level or as traumatic as losing his young daughter. This turns him into a character that seems to like solitude, and that such a sad event has a profound effect on his life, despite the fact that many years have now passed since this happened. This may be the reason why he may be having an identity crisis of some sort, as he is struggling to carry on life without his daughter, and is in two minds about what to do about this particular case he is working on. This is because he still has a sense of duty towards his job, and wants to uphold the law, but at the same time, the striking similarity of the older girl on the run from the police to his daughter makes him question everything he knows and he also wants to help her. Our main character is similar to a character featured in the thriller Primal Fear (1996) called Aaron Stampler, who is a young altar boy accused of murdering an Archbishop. He has a stutter, and is described to be shy, so the attorney in charge of his case is surprised but decides to take him on. Later on in the film, when the attorney had discovered that he lied about something and confronted him, the boy’s personality suddenly changes, and he adopts a new persona, calls himself Roy and is a violent sociopath that throws his attorney against the wall. However, despite this, after the incident occurred, he had no recollection of it. A psychiatrist later examines him, and becomes convinced that he suffers from multiple personality disorder, due to years of violent abuse from his father. This character’s disorder is more developed and more extreme then the kind that our main character appears to have, and this is not confirmed at any point during our film. Cases of mistaken identity or having multiple identities or personalities are common themes of thrillers, and are often very intriguing as it makes the viewer question what they already know about the character and which identity is their true one.
- 10. The first shot we see of our hero is when the camera pans around a grave to the right to reveal an establishing shot of the graveyard that the scene is taking place in, and this is also to give the audience an idea of what time of day it is set at, and who the main character is. The officer can be seen in the mid distance staring down solemnly at a grave directly in front of him. The shot then cuts to behind the grave he is staring at, and quickly tilts up to reveal his face in a mid shot, and the viewer can then see his face in closer detail as the shot switches to a close up of his face, and he appears to be sad and lost in thought. The scene then is filled with bright white light and the audience are returned to the past, where the officer is having a flashback to the happy moments with his young daughter and her murder. He is first seen in a mid low angled shot, with his daughter sat on his knee and looking calm and content, and appears to be watching the TV. The shot then switches to outside of the window looking in on the normal family scene, and the officer and his daughter are still sat there, and the little girl is seen hugging her dad and skipping out of the room, and he remains in his seat, clearly not worried about her. He is next seen when he walks into the hallway to find the villain waiting in there, at the bottom of the stairs looking as if he is going to go up. The mid straight shot pans to the left, following the action of the officer putting his arms out and attempting to pin the villain to the wall and stop him. Unfortunately, this does not work, as a match on action from the bottom to the top of the stairs looking down shows the villain pushing him over and racing up the stairs. The next shot returns to the bottom of the stairs, but closer this time pointing up showing the officer trying to get to his feet and attempting to follow him upstairs. The next shows the officer from the side of the stairs running up, and the camera follows him up and around as he reaches the top and turns the corner. He is then seen from behind opening the door to his daughter’s room. The next shot switches to inside the room, from about waist height, showing the villain from the side holding the little girl, as the officer opens the door and steps inside the room, a shocked expression on his face. A gunshot is heard in background as the screen fades out. The bright light returns and brings the viewer momentarily back to the present, where the officer is still seen lost in thought, this time from the ground level at the side of him, as he bends down and puts his hand on the grave, reflecting quietly for a moment. The bright light flashes again and the audience is returned to the flashback for the final time, after the shot of the killer fleeing the house, and a mid straight shot reveals the officer has collapsed on the bed and has his little girl lying in his arms, looking like she is sleeping peacefully, and crying as he mourns her loss. The camera slowly moves back to reveal a desk with a photograph of the pair on the side, indicating their close relationship and fondness for each other, and the image of the officer cradling his daughter can still be seen in the background, which makes the viewer feel sad and resentful as she has been taken away too soon. The flash of light returns the scene to the present, and the officer is seen in the same position as before, and quickly stands up, and the camera tilts up to follow him up, but stays in the same position. The camera then cuts to another mid straight shot of his face, and he is then seen shaking his head, as if his concentration has been broken, and the shot switches to about waist height and shows him reaching down, opening his jacket, reaching inside and taking out his ringing phone. A match on action shows him taking the phone out and up to his ear, and the shot is now a close up from the side. The audience hear him speak to someone off screen, which is revealed to be the chief of police, and asking where he has to go. After he has hung up, the shot switches to ground level and shows his feet turning and moving away from the scene, and it switches to a wide shot outside of the church, and he can be seen running down the steps, around the corner to his car parked outside. The camera then switches to his right side, and shows him bending down slightly, unlocking his car and getting in. One inside, he is shown from the front outside the car looking in through the windscreen, and he grabs his phone and puts it to his ear. After telling the older girl to get out of the house, he is seen from inside the car getting his belt on, staring the ignition, and finally driving off.
- 11. The editing techniques we used for the parts with our hero in were the ‘bloom’ effect used to transition to and from the flashback , and the use of black and white during the flashback scene, to highlight the fact that they are memories that took place in the past. Also, we attempted to heighten the contrast in the flashback so that the images could still be seen easily, but not lose the effect of the black and white tint. In the scenes taking place in the present, we used an option on Final Cut, which we edited with, to balance the colours in the scene, so that they all looked the same, especially because the filming took place over several days and the scene may have looked slightly different if they were not matched. We also were a able to use the blade tool which allowed us to cut off sections of the film on the timeline, section away from the rest of the footage, and swap and change around to put the footage we wanted in order and create certain effects, for example the match on action shot is created through the editing process. An example of this in our film is when the officer goes to push the villain to the wall, and as the villain pushes him down and he falls onto the stairs, the camera switches to the top of the stairs looking down and the action is shown being completed. The costume that the hero is dressed in is a casual version of his police uniform, which is a loose white shirt with the collar undone, and a loosened black tie and black work trousers. This shows that he is more relaxed as he is in his home environment, but may have come home not long before from a long and hard day at work and might have had time to get changed into more casual clothes. It also shows his dedication to his job as he clearly works hard. He also does not have any props. Also, no makeup was used, and the hair was kept the same, because none was needed. His facial expressions vary throughout the opening, for example, during the first part of the graveyard scene, he is seen looking sad and lost in thought, clearly thinking about his young daughter, and his body language mirrors this as he is stood still with his hands in his pockets. In the first part of the flashback, he looks calm and content, and his facial expressions and body language suggest that he is relaxed and happy, and this may be because he is in his home environment and does not feel threatened or in danger at all. However, this soon changes, as when it comes to the part when he walks in through the door, he seems tense and on edge, and this may be because he suspected that there was someone there that shouldn’t be, which in this case was our villain. He goes straight in at him, to stop him advancing any further into the house, suggesting that despite his shock that he is there, he is used to dealing with potentially hostile situations and wants to stop him as soon as possible. This body language and facial features continues in a similar manner as he pursues the villain upstairs, and his face turns to one of shock and then later sadness during his daughter’s final moments. His positioning in all of the shots was usually central to indicate his important status of the main character of the narrative.
- 12. In many thrillers, the presence of some sort of law enforcement organisation is always there, whether or not it is an important part of the narrative. The police force are usually portrayed as strong and powerful people who will stop at nothing to capture and detain those who have broken the law, and the majority of the time, the public is co-operative with them, in order to help justice prevail and restore peace to the community. However, this traditional image is not always the truth, as in some films the police are seen as a corrupt organisation that break the law rather than uphold it. In these cases, their attitude is usually the opposite, and do not care for other people, and often mistreat them, especially if it they get in the way of their moves and motives. Not much is revealed once again about our chief of police, as he only appears briefly. However, from the setting he is in, which is his office at the station, reveals that he is dedicated to his job, and that he is determined to see this particular case through. This is shown by the information wall behind him being covered in pictures and scribbled notes, with some crossed out, and also reveals that the case has being open and investigations into the girl have been going on for a long time. Until now, they do not have seemed to find anything significant, and from the information relayed from the chief to the officer, it seems that they have finally made some sort of breakthrough, and discovered the location of the girl. The chief’s notes on the case are also scattered across the desk showing that he is fully involved in case, and by his hunched posture over the desk and loose, more casual clothes suggests that he may have been suffering with stress as a result of the ongoing investigations. Our police chief is similar to Captain Sean Renard from the TV series Grimm (2011-present). He is also a hard working police chief, and cares about his officers and gets involved in all investigations, even if it involves aspects of his personal life. This is similar to our chief as they are both dedicated to their jobs and want to see most investigations through. This can also cause a certain amount of stress, especially if the case goes unsolved for a long time, which is similar to our character.
- 13. The first shot that is seen of the chief of police is a straight mid shot, showing the chief in the centre of the shot and slightly to the left, with the information board covered in notes and pictures about the case to the side of him. The desk with a computer on it is in front, and the audience is able to immediately recognise this as an office space in which the majority of the police operations are based there. They can also see that he is on the phone, and holding a file concerning the case, and is heard telling the hero of our story that they think they have found the girl, who is central to the case. As he says this, the shot switches to directly behind him, looking over his shoulder and down at the desk, where he throws down the case folder, revealing more information about the case to the audience, including a photograph of the girl and various finger prints from previous convictions. The shot goes back to the hero momentarily, who asks the chief where he has to go, and the viewer is returned back to the office and to the side of the chief who begins to sort out the various sheets in the file to find the information he needs, and informs the hero of the address he needs to go to. This shot is also a straight mid shot, as it does not show his whole profile. This is the last shot that he is featured in, as his appearance on screen is only brief, and only there to relay information on the case to our hero. Not many editing techniques are used in this part of the scene. We used the colour balancing part of the programme to make sure the colour was the same as the rest of the opening, and we also used a steel blue tint on this part to make it appear more blurred and hazy. The costume that the Chief of Police wears is very similar to our hero as they work in the same profession and together on the case. He is wearing an untucked, loose white shirt with the collar undone, with his black stripy tie also loosely tied around his neck, along with smart black work trousers, despite not being seen that often. His props in this scene include the phone that he speaks to the hero on, and the case file concerning the girl. No makeup was used on the Chief, nor was anything done to his hair. His facial expressions cannot be seen that clearly, as there are no close ups on his face, but from a distance the audience can tell that he is serious about this case, and determined to see it through quickly, which is also demonstrated by the way he tells the hero that he must get to the location ‘now’. His body language mirrors this, because most of the time he is slightly hunched over, and a bit uptight, which also demonstrates that he many be experiencing anxiety and stress from the prolonged investigations. He is also positioned central to the shot in all of the shots that he is in, as he is the only character in these moments, and is the one that the audience focuses on him. Although his appearance is brief, he plays an important part in the narrative, as he works closely with our hero, and wants to help him finish and close this case, but is unaware of the hero’s call to the girl and telling her to get away from her house, which goes against all they wanted to achieve in the case.